Ruby's mini heat pillows.

Do you remember when you were young and you seemed to grow over the course of one summer? All of a sudden, you would return to school 3 inches taller and with a whole new set of clothes. It seems like yesterday that I bought Oliver a cool set of pj's that were way too big. Now when he wears them, they resemble knickerbockers.....Oh the sadness over the sudden transformation of my children from little ones to tween/teens.

Ruby came up with this very cute tutorial for some sweet little rice bags. Throw them in the microwave for a few minutes and they will help soothe away all of those growing pains.

There is no size requirement for these. Ruby just cut 3 x 4" strips of fabric and sewed them together with right sides facing. You could also just use one piece of fabric, the shape is up to you!

You want them to be long enough to fold over to create a rectangle .

Go ahead and pin around the three sides, don't forget to mark the No Sew Zone!

Mushroom Mansions..

Last week, my lovely Saturday class tackled the Mushroom Mansions project from my new book, We Love to Sew.  I absolutely loved seeing how each mushroom looked so very different from the next.
This is the perfect project to showcase each girls unique style and awesome sewing skills. Next stop...county fair! I think we could win most interesting mushroom!

Well done girls!

What is family?

I have been living here in the States for 11 years this Summer. I still cannot quite believe that I arrived in this country with a wee babe in my arms, full of excitement and wonder of where our journey would take us. These 10 years have been tough....I mean, really tough!
I am enormously blessed with the best husband ever and my children are my greatest joy, but there has always been something missing - family!
I think that in life, we take for granted what it means to have our loved ones within a reasonable distance, even a short plane ride away. For us, our large families are more than a day away, in a different time zone and what feels like a different world.
Sure,  it is great to be able to find that teeny tiny window of time to make that phone call....but most of the time, it just isn't enough. Sometimes it can be a physical pain to not be able to sit with your parents or sisters and brothers and share a cup of tea and a catch up.

I have started thinking lately about the meaning of family. I decided that I needed to create my own American family...the people that when you are around them, make you feel like you are enveloped in a big warm embrace of love, the people that your children love with all of their hearts, the people that will sit and patiently listen to everything you have to say, no matter how trivial or silly.

I cannot tell you how profoundly it affected Ruby when a special friend of ours asked to be her "American" godmother, she finally knew that feeling of family close by. Of course she has a loving Godmother and Aunties and Uncles and Grandparents half a world away, but to have someone near, that loves her like family was a pretty life changing moment for her.

Last week I took the children to a very dear friends home for an evening of pasta making.  I sat there watching her teach my children how to make pasta from scratch, never once getting frustrated, interested in their every word, encouraging them at every turn. I took note of how my children love and respect her, of how she sat patiently looking at Oliver's school project pictures and of the ease and comfort of being able to be myself around her.

When we sat to eat our delicious handmade feast, with the sun setting and the children filled with pride...I was hit with the sudden realization that I do have a family here.

I just need to look around me!

Love your life!

So, I am making this sweet banner for  an upcoming project...when I was thinking about the words to add, these just made sense! 

Cactus Love

A couple of stray socks, throw in some pompoms, a handful of dirt and a sweet little pot and you have just about one of the cutest crafts I have seen in a long time. Hope over to Frankie Magazine for the full tutorial....I think this is the perfect Spring project for my class. Now I just need to find some perfectly green socks!

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And the winner is....

 

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Thanks to everyone for leaving comments for my book giveaway! The winner is Erinn!
Congrats Erinn, Please send me your info when you get a chance and I will send the book off to you!

Yay for a Book Giveaway!

So I'm feeling pretty lucky to have a neat little stack of books on my desk a couple of weeks before my book is officially released. I just happen to have a spare signed copy set aside for a lucky reader! Hooray!
Want to win it?
All you need to do is leave a comment below and I will randomly choose a lucky winner on Friday March 29.

Good luck and keep sewing!!

Chair Reinvention

A few months ago, I found this sweet but somewhat boring chair in my local habitat for humanity store. The $10 price tag was all I needed to take it home with me.
I really felt that it needed a little spiffing up ...not too much, just enough to give it a little something.
I set Ruby to work, I think the result is pretty great!